The manufacture of aircraft and other products frequently requires that work be performed on relatively large work pieces, such as sheets of metal, outer surface skins, inner compartment panels, bulkheads, monuments, and the like. The types of operations that may need to be performed on such work pieces include, but are not limited to, sanding, routing, drilling, and sawing. These operations require that the work piece be held securely in place. However, because of the dimensions of these work pieces, conventional methods of holding these work pieces securely in place may not be adequate. This has led to non-conventional methods of securing the work pieces such as propping the work pieces against walls, stacking sand bags against the work piece, using multiple vices to secure the work piece to a work bench, or just simply holding the work piece steady with one hand while performing an operation on the work piece with the other hand. While these non-conventional methods of holding a work piece in place can be effective, they are undesirable and there is ample room for improvement.